Aircraft identification

[mark1]

Please could someone write an article on how to identify aircraft.

I see aircraft with green outlines, aircraft with a green blob underneath and some without any green bits, but nowhere does it explain what these represent. Aircraft can be
Friendly or hostile
Scout, fighter or Bomber (various types)
How does the game represent these.

I would expect hostile aircraft to be red, the same as hostile ships but this does not seem to be the case.

I am only a little DD (with no AA guns) so is not particularly important, but I would like to know what is going on. :confused:

[papajohns]

airplane with any sort of green stuff on it are friendly..

airplane that has nothing is hostile

[mark1]

Yes, but can I tell the difference between scout, fighter and bombers?
I have noticed 3 different types of plane so far, so there must be more information there than just friendly/hostile.

[papajohns]

if u zoom in al the way, u can sort of tell :)

[Tunk]

If its fat, its likely to be a bomber.
If theres more than 1, its likely to be a bomber.

If its on its own its a scout.

If its buzzing around above a CV, its likely to be a fighter (or a jap fighter scout above jap ships).

[mark1]

So what is the difference between aircraft with green outlines and aircraft which just have a small green blob underneath them? We have established that both types are friendly, but there must be some meaning to the 2 different symbols.

Some aircraft have a number above them, eg 2. Is this to help their owner identify the aircraft (bit like the name of a ship), or does it mean that there is more than one aircraft in a group.

[ToXiC]

no clue what an aircraft with green outlines is....

if you can see a green circle and number around a plane, that means its friendly. think you figured that out by now.

identifying individual planes you get from experience. i can recognize the difference between an SBD, TBD, and Hellcat, but it's rather hard to describe the difference.

[papajohns]

the number on top of the plane is the formation number of the plane...its no use unless you are the owner of the planes, which then is the number key that you press to call that flight group.

[archer]

under each friendly plane you see a number (1 or 0)

This indicates how many offensive weapons the aircraft is carrying (bombs or torpedoes)

If there is a 1, it is a dive or torp bomber and is carrying one bomb/torp.
If there is a 0, its a scout or fighter, or a bomber that is returning to its ship.

The numbers above planes are used for identification by the plane's owner, and represent each flight formation.

Also, if the plane is close to the water its a torp bomber (as common sense would say ;) )

[mark1]

Thanks

Aircraft are now a bit easier to understand.

[archer]

Mark1 what nation are you BTW?

[mark1]

I was German (Z52), but now I am USA (Sommers)

[mark1]

Sorry to continue an old thread, but what is the difference between these 2 planes. They are both friendly scouts but one has a green outline the other does not.

http://www.giddieup.net/navyfield/upload/12001043-scout2.jpg

[papajohns]

if you read through the thread.you would have seen that question has been answered.

[mark1]

Well yes, Toxic did answer with
"no clue what an aircraft with green outlines is...."

I was hoping that with a screen shot someone could give a better answer, but perhaps it will have to remain a mystery.

[papajohns]

if you can see a green circle and number around a plane, that means its friendly.

thats self explanatory...

one explanation of both friendlies might be that one of em is urs..and the other one is an ally's

[mixmkz]

from my oberservation when a boat launch 2 scouts to say, one have a circle the other dont. when a boat launch one scout, the one scout has a circle beneath it. so common sense would tell me that must be the lead planes of that perticular group/squad of planes being launched at once.

[papajohns]

mm..thats not from what i see...my planes usually all have the circle....

[mixmkz]

then the issue shall remain a mystery then lol

[archer]

Well, these two aircraft are in the same flight formation, and the aircraft with the 1 above it is the leader of the formation. There is no real value or importance of a plane being the formation leader, however it is the plane that helps the carrier operator indentify which formation/squadron the planes belong to.

When you start to use CV's, you have many squadrons of planes in the air at once and these markers help you know which planes are being used. In this case, the operator of these scouts is using his 1st pilot. In the bigger carriers you will see formation leaders with a 4, 5, or even 6 or 7.

Hope this answers your question..? :thumbs:

[mark1]

Yes thankyou
The circle shows a formation leader but "formation leader" has no significance.

Neither plane is mine, I have a little DD

[Shatara]

Aircraft identifacation is kinda tough, given the sprites are so small.

However, there are some things you can take notice of.

First off, is color. Each nation seems to have a specific color associated with its aircraft. These are as follows:

USN = Blue
IJN = White
RN = Light Brown
KM = Dark Green

Also, there are 'features' that you can look for, such as wings and floats. For example:

USN:
Only scouts are biplanes. There is a monoplane scout, but it's rare. So if it's blue and a biplane, dont worry too much, just a scout.

IJN:
The 'fighter scout' everyone refers to is a monoplane with three floats. (one large in the center, two small wing outriggers).

RN:
TB's are all biplanes. Some scouts are as well, though fugly lookin ones.

KM:
The most common scout is a monoplane with two floats.
Most low-level carrier planes are biplane, but later ones are monoplanes.

That's the best I can do. Most other differences are to slight to notice, much less describe.